Fixing you
by Shakespearenarutostyle
Summary: "You're a heart doctor? Maybe you could fix uncle Sasuke's heart." For SSM month, SasuSaku obviously) AU, and slightly, okay, not so slightly depressing (because I'm feeling a little blue)
1. Babysitting

Thank you guys, for reviewing Five stages, this is my second contribution, which is another five part oneshot, in which every part is a prompt, hope you like it

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Sakura Haruno pushed through the corridors of Konoha Hospital, hands stuffed into the pockets of her light pink scrubs, she huffed an angry breath of air and swapped her card through the security system.

Shizune, a colleague of hers, as well as her superior, gave her attire one look and her lips upturned into a mocking smirk. "No wonder you have that frown on your face, stuck on maternity?"

"Huh." Sakura scoffed. "I wish, I am on pediatrics, for the next three weeks. What I am supposed to be doing all day? Handing out lollipops?"

Shizune laughed her off. "You're only a first year resident, Sakura. Give it time, you'll get your moments." With that, the pathology attendant patted her on the shoulder. "Off you go."

Sakura gave her a mocking two fingered salute and went on her way. The pediatrics ward was just as she expected it to be. Loud, chaotic, and migraine inducing.

She resisted the urge to moan and headed off to find the resident that she was assigned to. They went through a batch of routine maladies and procedures, laryngitis, stomach flu, a booster shot, stomach flu again, a particularly nasty ear infection, stomach flu once more, in fact, stomach flu seemed to be stealing the show, a few more vaccination shots.

Sakura was ready to balk. Her supervising resident motioned for her to follow into another exam room.

"What do we have here?" The blonde asked. "Haruno, the chart."

Sakura rolled her eyes heavenward and reached for the chart hanging at the foot of the bed. The patient was a small slip of a girl, she had a round rosy face, dark shiny hair, and chubby limbs. She smiled at Sakura, showing off her missing front teeth. Sakura could not help but smile back.

" Uchiha Nana, Female, aged six, no history of infections or contagious diseases," She began to read out loud, her mood rotten once more, "No allergies, in need of flu-"

The drape that separated the exam room from the rest of the ward was suddenly pulled back, and the most beautiful male species Sakura ever had the fortune to see stood before them.

He was…stunning. He was young, younger than her twenty three years of age, he had a peculiar style of dress, form fitting dark grey jeans, a white V neck, and a dark leather jacket clung to his built upper body, and two leather fingerless gloves covered his hands. His hair, oddly shaped and styled, looked so soft she wanted to reach over and touch it.

"The nurse said that they didn't serve chocolate smoothies in the cafeteria." He informed the small cherub that was peering up at him with adoration in her eyes. "I'll buy you one when we leave here."

"Shot." Sakura finished. "In need of flu shot." Sakura was kind of relieved to see that the second year resident that was set to supervise her was much in the same stupor as she.

"Right." She said. "You know the procedure. And who would you be, sir?"

He opened his mouth to reply but the girl but him to it. "Uncle Sasuke." She replied happily. "Best uncle in the world." She qualified.

Sakura smiled, so he wasn't her dad, of course he wasn't, he barely looked a day over twenty, still, with the amount of teenage pregnancies going around, she wouldn't have balked if he was in fact her father.

She quickly administered the required procedure. Nana was a brave one, she did tear up a bit when Sakura was giving her the injection, but other than that, she did not whine or run off like a little boy that she had to take care of just twenty minutes ago.

Sakura turned to the uncle. "As side effects to the vaccination, she may have a mild headache, if that happens, a mild doze of Ibuprofen should do the trick, Ibuprofen can be bought over the counter, make sure to supply the pharmacist with the age so he could administer the proper doze, have a good day."

Her supervisor feeling satisfied that she had control of the situation moved ahead out of the exam room. "Nana," Sakura called, avoiding eye contact with the uncle, "Since you are so brave, I have to give you a treat." The cherub's dark brown eyes lit up. "Since I don't have any lollipops with me, what do you say I get you that chocolate milkshake?"

Nana's grin broadened. "Really, miss?"

Sakura smiled. "There's a great bistro just around the block, my break's in..." She glanced at her wrist watch. "10 minutes, want to go?"

"Yes." Nana exclaimed, then turned to her gorgeous uncle. "Can we go, please, please, can we go?"

The brunet's lips turned in annoyance, he fixated Sakura with his aggravation, Sakura stared at the yellow drapes innocently, as if they suddenly became interesting.

"Fine." He replied. "We'll wait."

Sakura half expected them to be gone already when she exited the hospital, finally on her break, she was mildly surprised to see Nana hoisted up on her uncle's back in a piggy back ride, waving at her cheerfully, and hanging on to her uncle's neck for dear life.

Sakura waved back. "The bistro's just this way, she gestured across the street. They have the best chocolate milkshakes, with sprinkles, whipped cream and a cherry on top."

Sakura giggled as Nana neared salivation all over her uncle's back and shoulder. "Let's go, uncle Sasuke."

The gorgeous young man started walking and Sakura could not help but giggle at his expense. Much to their fortune, the bistro was not crowded, they placed their orders, a chocolate milkshake for Nana, cappuccino and crepe for Sakura, Sasuke chose a cup of black coffee, no sugar, no cream, Sakura had to scrunch her nose at that.

"I am Sakura." She extended a hand, and giggled, "A little backwards, I know."

He shook her hand. "That would be Dr…"

"Haruno." She supplied, a little miffed that she had extended the courtesy of giving him her first name and he was asking for her family name, "Dr. Sakura Haruno, Well, I'd say that it's a bit of a stretch to call myself a doctor, I mean I passed the exam and all, but I'm only a first year resident, hence the supervision." He nodded, Nana happily slurped her sweet treat, some chocolate got on her chin, Sasuke grabbed a napkin and started to wipe it for her. "I spotted Nana's full name on the chart, but I don't know if you're her uncle from maternal or paternal side, so…"

"Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha. You can call me, Sasuke."

She nodded. "Sasuke it is then, oh, and please call me Sakura." She smiled. "That's a very cute cherub of a niece you got there."

He scoffed. "Don't let appearances fool you, face of an angel, mind of a devil." Nana took exception to that, she pinched his arm, he rubbed at that spot and gave her a chastising look.

"What kind of doctor are you?" It was Nana that asked that question. "A kid doctor?"

Sakura chewed on her crêpe thoroughly before she answered. "Right now, I am kind of a jack of all trades." When the six year old glanced at her with confusion, Sasuke jumped in to explain, "It means that now she's being taught all sorts of things, and later, she can choose what kind of doctor she wants to be."

Nana smiled, happy that she now understood. "And what kind of doctor do you want to be?"

"A cardio-vascular surgeon." Sakura replied before she could think about it then she qualified, "I mean a heart doctor. Hopefully, I'll fix people's hearts."

Nana tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Then," She looked between her uncle and Sakura, "Maybe, you could fix uncle Sasuke's heart."

Sasuke stiffened, and Sakura blinked slowly. "Nana, drink your milkshake, and be quick about it." The girl persisted. "I heard daddy tell mommy that your heart is broken, maybe the nice doctor can fix it."

"Nana." Sasuke snapped. "Hurry up, we have to go."

The girl bowed her head and continued to sip her chocolate, her cheeks red and her spirit defeated, Sakura suddenly wanted to thrash the young man, the girl was just being helpful and he went and broke her down. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, when she spotted something peek from underneath his glove, something was wrapped around his left wrist, something white, her eyes widened as she recognized the gauzy material of bandages, she glanced at his right hand, there was bandage there too. He caught her staring at his hands and pulled the sleeves of his jacket down.

"Are you done, Nana?" He asked when he saw that her tall glass was now empty. The six year old nodded slowly. "Come on, if you hurry now, I'll slip you a popsicle after dinner."

The six year old brightened and all but hopped out of her seat, the Uchiha fished in his pockets for his wallet and produced several bills, he placed them on the counter and nodded to her. "It was nice meeting you, Sakura." He nodded again and turned to leave.

"Hey," She called out, "It was supposed to be my treat."

He was already at the exit though, she scoffed and finished the last of her crepe before standing, it was nearing the end of her break anyway.

She stalked back to the hospital, miffed, but curious. Nana had said that her uncle's heart was broken, Sakura was perceptive enough to know that the six year old did not mean physically, she meant emotionally, even if her little, immature mind didn't understand it. And the bandages on his wrists, those were telling as well.

Sakura had a flaw, once she caught the bug, there was not letting it go. It was an advantage to her as a medical student, being able to focus on one thing, and one thing only, until she got it right, that sort of unrelenting determination was necessary in her line of work, but as a person, it was a flaw, a people repellant, if you'd like.

Determined, Sakura left the residents' lounge, having finished all that needed to be finished in her shift, and headed to the bottom floor, the lowest floor actually, where archives were kept.

She had to coax the archivist into letting her in, sure, she was a medical personnel, but still, medical files, of patients especially, were confidential, unless she had been in on a particular case, she had no right to look over the case file.

"Mina," She said, "How recent are the files in here?"

The brunette keeping the desk stared at her, "Disease treated, patient home, alive, file goes here." She through her thumb over her shoulder, "In alphabetic order, the oldest ones are all the way in the back, the newest ones are just about here, though."

"Do you think I could borrow a file?"

The archivist squinted at her then shook her head. "It's against the rules."

"Yes, but it's really important." She countered. "I'll pay you back, I'll give you free pas to the residents' lounge for three days, think of the TV, the mini fridge, the espresso machine, you even get a couch."

The brunette squinted some more, then looked to the left, to the right, then nodded. "You've got a deal. Which file do you want?"

"Sasuke Uchiha, it should be pretty recent, a month tops."

The archivist began to type at the computer in front of her. Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You have them on computer?" Mina nodded. Sakura gestured to the isles and isles of files. "Formalities." Mina replied.

Sakura shook her head. "Sasuke Uchiha, there it is. Wait, wait."

Sakura's spirits fell. "What now?"

The brunette twirled the tips of her hair. "This one is classed VIP, that'd cost you three more days."

"Fine." Sakura harrumphed . "You get a week, just let me take a look at the file."

The brunette turned the computer screen her way. "Be quick about it."

Sakura's eyes began to skim through the data. Male, aged twenty one, he was only two years younger than her, and here she was feeling guilty because she nearly drooled over him, or his astonishing beauty, anyway.

"May thirteenth," She spoke out loud, it said that he was hospitalized on May thirteenth, almost five weeks ago, causes for hospitalization were severe blood loss due to lacerations to both the Ulnar and Radial arteries. She bit the insides of her cheeks, those were fancy, medical terms for attempted suicide, he had slashed his own wrists.

A psych evaluation was mandatory by the psychologist's notes were red waxed, not even she could get past them, no matter how much she bribed the archivist.

She thanked Mina and headed out. Great, now, he'll be tottering around in her head until she cracked him, until she found out exactly what a guy like him had been thinking when he took the knife to his skin.

Sometimes, Sakura hated how obsessive she could get. Just sometimes.


	2. The deep end

"Are you like gay, or something?" It was the first thing that Sakura said to the man when she flopped down on the beach chair next to him.

His head mechanically turned to her, and he stared at her, as if she had lost her mind, he blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

She sighed, then repeated her question. "Are you gay? I mean, it's ok if you are, I am not a homophobe or anything, I'm just wondering."

"Wha…" He stared at her, "How…" He shook his head, and then closed his mouth again, not sure what to say. "The hell is wrong with you?"

Sakura tilted her head to the side. "I am Sakura, you probably don't remember me, we met at the hospital you were with your niece, Nana-"

"I know who you are." He interrupted, and sat up in his chair. "Just where the hell did you get the idea that I am gay?" He spat the word as if it disturbed him.

She bit her lip. "You're a guy, you're twenty one, and you're sitting here, on a Saturday afternoon, with your six year old niece, at the pool." She gestured around with her hand, pointing to the laughing kids as they splashed each other in the water, the mommas that were a little too old to be wearing bikinis, the men that could use a little shave, or not so little. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She pointed at him accusingly.

He sighed, clearly annoyed. "It's summer, school's out, Nana wanted to come, I had nothing better to do. I am not gay."

She nodded. "That's good, that's good. Do you always go where Nana goes? That's an awful nice of you."

He huffed once more. "Nana is my only niece, her company's better than half the dimwits I know."

Sakura snorted. "Sounds like you need to meet new people if you're that desperate."

He waved her off then narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a life?" He looked around, as if to make sure that she was alone.

The rosette snorted again. "I'm an aspiring doctor, that should answer your question, besides, it's hot day, my AC's down, figured I'd come here for a swim."

"In jeans." He deadpanned, eyeing her outfit, which consisted of jeans and a tank top, as well as sneakers.

"Get off my case, where's Nana? I want to say Hi."

Sasuke turned his gaze to the pool. "She's just over th-" He froze, then bound out of his chair, alarmed, Sakura did the same. "She was jus there!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the shallow end of the pool. "Nana?" He cried out, all but running to the pool's edge.

Sakura followed him, she cast her sight at the pool, looking for the small brown haired cherub, she squinted at the far end of the pool, the area usually reserved for the grownups, and the good swimmers, she saw the water splash and bolted.

"There, Sasuke." She cried out. The brunet was hot on her heels as they circulated the pool, Nana had drifted into a deserted area, Sakura wanted to get to her, but Sasuke was faster, he ran all the way to the edge, then stopped abruptly, his eyes wide, and his mouth aghast.

"What are you doing? Get to her." She yelled out. She was just about to jump in herself when a teen hoisted the girl up, Nana was crying, and clinging to her savior's neck as he took her back to the pool edge.

Sakura received her and thanked the young boy profusely. Sasuke remained frozen to his spot, even as Sakura held Nana to her chest, gently calming the hysterical girl.

After what seemed like forever, Sasuke took mechanical, slow strides to them, he took Nana from Sakura's hold, and plastered her to his chest, kissing her head.

"You scared me, you chit!" He exclaimed, "Didn't I tell you to stay out of the deep end? You could have drowned!"

The young girl continued to sob, Sakura was about to intervene when she noticed the tears in Sasuke's eyes, he was clearly terrified. He stared at his niece then tucked her head under his chin. "You're ok, you're safe."

They ended up having to take her to an ice cream shop and let her order all she wanted. Sasuke insisted several times that they take her to a hospital, but Sakura assured him that she hadn't swallowed any water, and that she hadn't been caught off from air so he had nothing to worry about.

"You're aqua phobic." Sakura commented, Nana was oblivious to them, happily licking away at her ice cream.

Sasuke's head snapped her way, he stared at her for a few heartbeats, then nodded. "True. How did you know?"

"It was obvious, you wanted to save her, but you couldn't come near the water. It's ok, you know, and I hear them say that it's a treatable condition, of course, there's not magical pill or anything, just shrinks and stuff."

"I don't want any shrinks, I had enough of those."

Oh, a broken one indeed. "Are you sure she doesn't need a hospital?"

Sakura nodded. "She's breathing, isn't she?" She joked, when he didn't laugh, she continued, "She's fine, I am sure." She bit her lip, "So, what's this thing that has you going to shrinks?"

She was almost certain that he wouldn't answer her, he told Nana that they needed to leave, paid for her treat, then stood.

Just as he was about to leave, he glanced at her over his shoulder, a mocking smirk on his lips, "I'm bipolar."


	3. Accidents happen

Sakura trotted through the hospital, finally out of the hideous pink scubs and dressed in blue ones instead.

"Sakura," The receptionist called her name as she passed her by, "Chief wants you in her office, as soon as you're free."

Seeing as she had nothing pressing at the moment, Sakura headed towards Tsunade's office. The blonde woman was pissed, she narrowed her eyes at Sakura and told her to sit in a clipped tone.

Sakura sat down tentatively, her muscles locked in a fight-or-flight position, Tsunade tossed a sealed file her way, Sakura did not need to glance at the name to find out who it belonged to.

"I can explain." She started, holding her hands up in a surrender motion, discreetly she looked around for any sharp or destructive objects that could be thrown her way.

"You better." Tsunade muttered. "What do you want with his file?"

"I was…" She searched for the best word, "Interested, how did you know anyways?"

"His file is classified, VIP, I get automatically notified whenever his file is viewed, you chit. You're not here to question me, I am questioning _you._" She pointed accusingly at the rosette. "Now, hurry up, explain this interest, I don't have all day, and neither do you."

Sakura sighed and quickly explained what made her so curious about the Uchiha, she even talked about the bandages, and what Nana said about his heart being broken.

Tsunade pursed her lips. "So, you know about his failed suicide attempt."

"It wasn't hard to figure out, I mean searching through his file was just assurance, I also hoped to find why he did it, no such luck there, no amount of bribery could let me get a sneak peek at the psych evaluation notes." She sighed. "You know how obsessive I can get, it's the reason you took me as an apprentice."

Tsunade snorted. "No, I took you as an apprentice because I thought that you had a brain, a brain that you're not using very well at the moment, get off his case, Sakura, it's not your business, and he's not one to meddle with."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "What's he to you?"

Tsunade straightened. "He's my nephew. The kid's as disrespecting as hell, but he's a good kid, he has a tough lot in life, that's all. Leave him alone."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Your nephew? But you look nothing alike."

"His mom and I are stepsisters, stop meddling." Tsunade grumbled, obviously annoyed that she had to reveal personal info. "Go learn something, you brat. You're giving me a headache."

More like the sake is giving you a headache, the rosette thought, but she complied nonetheless and turned to leave.

Sakura headed towards the clinic, where she was supposed to assist with the general consultations. She was just about to ask for her resident when she spotted a familiar dark haired cherub.

"Nana," She exclaimed. The girl raised her head when she heard her name, she smiled and waved cheerfully, Sakura found herself dumbly waving back.

Nana was holding the hand of an older woman, her mother perhaps, she tugged on her hand and pointed at Sakura, the older woman glanced Sakura's way, then smiled, the pair made their way to her.

"Hello, there." The woman, held out her hand to shake Sakura's. "You must be Sakura. I'm Konan, Nana's mother. She talks a lot about you."

Konan's hair was the most unusual shade of Indigo, Sakura mentally snorted, and absentmindedly fingered her own hair, her hair was a rather unusual shade of reddish blonde, too light to be called red, and too coppery to be called blonde.

"Pleased to meet you. I hope Nana's not sick." She cast a passing glance at the six year old, she looked fit to her.

"Oh, no, Nana's alright." Konan replied, then her lips turned into a frown, "It's not Nana we're here for."

Nana nodded. "We're here for uncle Sasuke," She continued before her mother could stop her, "Uncle's gone loco again."

"Nana," Konan exclaimed. "Is that how I taught you to talk about people? It's your uncle, don't you think it would hurt him to hear you say that?" She turned to Sakura, "I'm sorry, I don't know where she learns these words."

Nana pouted. "I was just telling her so she could fix him." She turned to Sakura, "Can you fix him, please? Can you try?"

Sakura did not know what to say to her, she looked between the two. Luckily, Nana's attention was shifted, she scurried past Sakura and lurched herself at a man that resembled Sasuke.

"Did you see, uncle? Is he ok? " She turned to Sakura, "Daddy, this is Sakura."

The man walked calmly towards them. "Konan, why don't you take Nana to get some ice cream? I'll meet you outside."

The woman nodded, waved at Sakura and dragged her daughter away, despite the kid's protests.

"You're Sakura." The man announced and held out his hand, "I'm Itachi, Sasuke's brother."

Sakura was nervous, she didn't know what these people knew about her, she shook the man's hand. "Is Sasuke alright?" She asked. "Were you able to see him?"

He shook his head. "Nana wanted to see him, but she was not allowed because of her age." Sakura nodded, already aware of this, people under the age of fifteen could not be allowed into the psych ward, assuming that that's where Sasuke was. "I was allowed, but Sasuke won't see me."

Sakura sighed. "Did he have a depression episode?"

Itachi seemed startled. "You know about the…"

She nodded. "He told me. He seemed fine just two weeks ago, I am assuming that the mania episode subsided and depression took over."

"I guess," Itachi seemed wary of her, like he didn't know if he could trust her. "He'll be held for the mandatory 72 hours evaluation, even more if the episode doesn't subside. I'll try again, tomorrow, I'm sure you're quite busy, Dr. Haruno, I'll leave you to it then."

At the end of her shift, Sakura could not resist drifting into the psych ward, at the very top floor.

"Could tell me which room Sasuke Uchiha is in?" She asked the floor receptionist.

The woman looked down her nose at her then checked. "Visitation are limited, next of kin only."

Sakura bit her lip and put on her best kicked puppy look. "But, I really want to make sure that my boyfriend is feeling okay," She winced inwardly at the morbid lie, "Please, I won't stay long."

The older woman sighed. "Hurry up, I won't have my job in jeopardy because of you, if I hear anything unusual, you're out."

Sakura thanked her and headed towards the room number she gave her.

"Why did they let you in?" It was the first thing that Sasuke said to her when he spotted her entering his room. "You said you're a cardiovascular surgeon, not a psychologist."

She held up a finger. "Wrong, I said I wanted to be a cardiovascular surgeon, I'm not one yet, and I," She bit her lower lip, "I told them that you're my boyfriend."

He snorted, his eyes were closed, and he was sitting up in bed, arms crossed. "They believed you?"

The rosette jutted out her chin. "Why wouldn't they? You think you're such a catch, don't you?" She scowled. "How are you?"

"I'm depressed. Leave me alone."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, she moved closer into the room. "You don't sound depressed." He opened his eyes and gave her a pointed stare. "Ok, you're in a bad mood, but I'm almost always in a bad mood, that doesn't make me depressed."

He sighed. "You should have seen me when I was breaking every chinaware my poor sister in law valued. Go away, Sakura."

"Fine, I'll leave you to it." She turned to leave, just before she exited the door, she called over her shoulder, "Hey, Sasuke?"

He made an acknowledgment sound in the back of his throat, "Why are you afraid of water?"

He remained silent, Sakura thought that he wouldn't answer. "Did you…I don't known, almost drown or something?"

"I lost a friend in a boat accident." He deadpanned. " Have a good day, Dr. Haruno."

Sakura knew when to walk out, she returned his greeting, and turned to leave. She closed the door softly behind her.


	4. Bug

Sakura tapped the door to Tsunade's office ever so gently, she winced when a loud and curt enter was her answer.

"Did I or did I not tell you to leave it alone?" Those were the first words that Tsunade said, she stared at Sakura with malice in her eyes.

"I-"

"Did I or did I not?" Tsunade insisted. Sakura nodded. "Then why is your name on yesterday's visitor logs to Sasuke's room?"

Sakura tried to, nonchalantly, shrug, she was too nervous to act nonchalant. "He's an acquaintance, I heard he was in the hospital, so I visited."

Tsunade nodded. "And while you were visiting, your acquaintance, it completely escaped your mind that he was in the psych ward?"

Sakura shrugged again. "I knew about his bipolar disorder before, it wasn't a shock or anything."

"Don't act all coy with me you chit." She waved a paper in Sakura's face. "I've been getting reports, you're slacking up, how are you hoping to get into a decent fellowship if you can't get through the first year of your residency? You think cardio is for slackers? Get a reality check then."

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "I told you that I'll obsess over it. I can't stop." She turned her pleading eyes Tsunade's way. "I have to get it out of my mind, please help me, I can't focus on anything else, unless I…"

"Unless you what, Sakura?" Tsunade asked. "You already have a diagnosis, bipolarity."

"I know." The rosette exclaimed. "But something's not right. I can just feel it, you're the one that said that physicians must trust their instincts as must as they trust their heads. Well, something's telling me that there's something fishy about this diagnosis, I am not a shrink but I know it, please, shishou, I have to find it, or else, I'm screwed."

Tsunade sighed. "What's this something fishy you're talking about? What did you catch?"

Sakura straightened. "What can you tell me about the boat accident?"

Tsunade froze for what felt like forever, she looked at Sakura with her eyebrows in her hairline, opened her mouth then closed it again. "How the hell do you know about the boat accident?"

Sakura blinked. "He…told me."

Tsunade's expression went even more astonished. "He told you? Just what kind of spell do you have on the kid? He's practically mute!"

"I asked, and he answered, that's all he said though, he said that he lost a friend in a boat accident, what kind of accident?"

Tsunade clasped her hands together and stared at Sakura. "What kind of relationship do you have with Sasuke? I know he's younger than you and-"

"No, nothing like that. We met just like a month ago, that's all." She waved her hand in the air in denial. "What happened in the boat accident?"

"I want your promise that what I say here, does not leave this room." Sakura eagerly nodded. "Sasuke was seven maybe eight at that time, his grandfather, paternal side, took him and a friend, his name was Juugo, in a boat. A fishing boat, they were supposed to have a good time, but then, something happened, and I guess, Juugo was pushed, I think it was a loose sail, to the water."

Sakura gasped, horrified at the idea of a kid in open sea. "He was just a year or so older than Sasuke, and the fishermen weren't paying them attention, grandfather said that they had secured a big catch, some sort of gigantic tuna fish, they couldn't hear Sasuke's cries for help over the excitement."

Sakura pulled herself to the edge of her seat, her eyes wide, and her stomach bottomless. "Sasuke was a good swimmer, he jumped in after his friend." She cleared her throat. "Alas, even if he was a good swimmer, the waves and the…he couldn't have saved him, and the fishermen, well, they weren't used to kids on boats."

Sakura's eyes widened, and her heart sank. Oh, god. "Shishou, no."

"They went back to shore, and it was only when they were unloading that they noticed that the two kids were missing. Sasuke was hanging on to a buoy for dear life, and Juugo was never found."

Sakura balked."How…the shrinks never considered PTSD? That's just…horrible."

Tsunade shook her head. "Sasuke was always a temperamental child, I mean sure, the accident did a number on him, but he was always this way, prone to tantrums, normal one second, then miserable the next."

"But, that's not BD, people who suffer from BD are elated over extended periods of time, jubilant, active, euphoric really, then depressed, and sad, and dead to the world, that's not Sasuke. What you described is just a serious case of Brat disorder, a child that misbehaved like any other child."

Tsunade dismissed the rosette, after once again, gaining her promise that she would keep the matter between them. Sakura could not do that though, she gave the promise but she couldn't keep it.

"Hello," Sakura gave the greeting through the phone as she walked down the street to her apartment, her shift finally over. "Is this Dr. Sarutobi's practice? Yes? Could you please book me an appointment? As soon as possible." She checked the time. "Yes, two hours from now is perfect."

Sakura had never been at a shrink's before, granted, it wasn't much different, there were no diagram, no heinous couch either.

The shrink was an aging man, with tuffs of white hair on the sides of his hair. "You say that this consultation is for a friend?" He regarded her with indifference, and doubt, there was doubt in his eyes, well hidden, she'd have to give him that.

"Yes. I know how that sounds, but honestly, it's not for me. I am a resident at Konoha hospital, a surgical resident, and there's this patient, well, he's diagnosed with BD."

"Bipolar disorder?" He clarified, already scribbling on his notebook.

"Yes, he's been diagnosed for a long time now, and is on treatment, recently, he relapsed, went into a depressive episode."

"Well," He coughed, "If he's been diagnosed before, what is the issue?"

"It's this, I don't think that he has BD." She answered truthfully. "Patient has been a subject of a severe trauma involving water, now, he has developed a phobia, I believe that along aqua phobia, there have been several other effects that were mistakenly diagnosed as BD."

The older man narrowed his eyes. "He's been diagnosed by…"

Sakura winced, guessing where he was heading with his thoughts. "Several psychologists, but I have reason to believe that he was misdiagnosed."

"Explain these reasons to me, Dr. Haruno."

The rosette cleared her throat. "Like I said, this patient of mine relapsed, went into a depressive episode, supposedly, he had been suffering from hypomania, but really, there were no evidence of that."

"Hypomania is generally characterized by a euphoric state of mind, hyperactivity, creativity, hypersexuality, an overflow of energy which generally manifests in the person's behavior, would you say that your patient experienced these?"

Sakura was already shaking her head before he even finished his question. "No, not at all. In fact, indifference is what characterizes this patient, indifference and aloofness, I would say."

He scribbled on his paper some more. "Interesting, you said that this person suffered from trauma, relating to water?"

"Yes, he lost a beloved in the water, and was stranded in open sea for hours."

Dr. Sarutobi scribbled on his notepad some more. "Could you think of anything that would trigger the episode?"

Sakura nearly danced with triumph. He was thinking the same way that she was. "Yes, actually, he recently experienced an incident in which his niece nearly drowned, that was how I figured out that he was aqua phobic."

"Dr. Haruno? Have you heard of association theory?"

She nodded. "It states that concepts are learned by reinforced connections between a stimulus and a desired response, almost like Thorndike's law of effect?"

"Almost." Dr. Sarutobi announced. "See, the same principle of Thorndike's law of effect applies on humans, only in reverse, see, an unpleasant reaction, makes the action itself unpleasant. It is not farfetched to believe that your patient, is experiencing the same, in the form of PTSD, the near drowning of his niece was the action, his mind has associated water with the drowning of his friend, and therefore, associated water with an unpleasant reaction."

"So, BD is not it?" Sakura asked, her hands clasped on her knees. "It's just PTSD."

"If what you said is true, then I don't think that it's bipolar disorder at all. It is actually hard for me to believe that other psychologists have not considered post traumatic stress disorder."

When Sakura entered Sasuke's room the following day, she didn't know what to say, so she said the first thing that came to mind. "I don't think you have BD."

Sasuke stared at her for a few heartbeats. "You're like this bug, aren't you? You exist to irritate me, and no matter how many times I swath you away, you just keep on coming back."

She grinned at him.


	5. Recipe

So, this is the fifth and final part, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it

ps. I decided to post it all in one day because I'm too lazy to wait :p)

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Sakura waited, and waited, at lunch hour, when the nurse would bring Sasuke's food to his room. She glanced at her clock, a minute past one pm, anytime now. True enough, a nurse came her way.

"Wait," She called out."Please, wait." The nurse turned her way. "Please take this to him." She stuck out her lower lip. "My boyfriend, he just loves to have his tuna sandwich at lunch and the hospital, let's be honest," She gestured to the tray, "That's not exactly gourmet food."

The older nurse smiled at her and told her that she'd make sure that Sasuke know that she made it for him.

Sakura waited, and waited. Her shift started an hour ago, her supervisor would probably have her head, then report her to the chief of surgery, but she still waited.

And her wait, was eventually worth it. The psychologist was called into the room just forty five minutes later, Sakura hang around, Sasuke had relapsed again.

She grinned triumphantly and headed to Tsunade's office. "I was right."

Tsunade raised her head from the mounts of paperwork that she had before her, she had one fine, blond eyebrow raised. "I was right." Sakura repeated, her hands on her hips in a victorious pose. "He doesn't have BD, and when I talk to his shrink, he'll agree with me. It's PTSD."

She explained her trip to Dr. Sarutobi's, and also told her of their findings, she even explained some of the info she researched about association theory, and concluded, that what Sasuke as suffering from was a severe case of PTSD, that turned into something dangerous when left untreated for so long.

"For fifteen years, no one paid attention to the trauma, that amazes me."

Tsunade shook her head. "Sasuke is not the talkative type, I'm sure you've noticed, I doubt he even mentioned the trauma to any of his shrinks. I suppose it was easier for him to accept that something was genetically wrong with him, than to accept that that he had not moved on from that incident, and well, that doctor-patient confidentiality is just a load of crap, because, if not for that, they could have discussed his case with his parents, and all this wouldn't have happened."

"God, I feel so free, now, I can finally, finally, get some learning done." The rosette reclined in her seat. "It's liberating."

Tsunade could not help but smile. "Good work, chit. BD is for life, PTSD is treatable, I think Mikoto can finally stop worrying about her son committing suicide."

"Wait, you've lost me. I don't have BD?" Sasuke was sitting up on his bed. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape.

Sakura shook her head. "No, Sasuke, what you went through fifteen years ago, that's not something that you can move on from, it's destructive, I guess you were young and it was easier to pretend that it was ok, but like it or not, the effects of such a trauma did occur. Aqua phobia is just one of the ways that it messed you up."

"I don't get it. How come none of the multitude of shrinks that I've seen never diagnosed me with PTSD?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Did you speak about the accident?"

He bowed his head. "No, b-"

"Well, there you have it, you can't just tell someone that you have post traumatic stress disorder without a trauma." She tilted her head to the side. "This is what I think, common symptoms of PTSD include dizziness, nausea, hysteria, fear, hyperventilation, I guess it was easier to write these off as mania instead of delving into the reasons behind it, and I think that the shrinks all headed towards BD as the explanation because of the episodes that would come and go."

Sasuke sat straighter in his bed, his hands were not covered in bandages anymore, but there two fine lines, reddish where he must have slashed his skin, but other than that , he didn't appear disturbed in the least, the sedatives that were pushed into his system when he went into hysterics earlier must have did the trick, the shrink would not let her see him without restraints, Tsunade finally pushed her influence and said that Sasuke was obviously lucid now.

"How would you explain that?" Sasuke pulled her out of her thoughts. "The episodes that would come and go?"

"Triggers." She announced. "Whenever you came into contact with something that would pull you back into that horrible day," She paused, waiting for him to react, his expressing became frozen, and stony, "You would react the same way you did on that day. And I guess, all those things made you angry at yourself which created the mania-like episodes." She paused. "Sasuke, your family thought that you had BD, that's one of the most dangerous psychological disorders, because it's so unpredictable, it's fluctuant, and yet your brother trusted you with his six year old daughter?"

"Because," He started slowly, "When I was not like this," He gestured around, "I was normal."

The rosette smiled. "Exactly, Sasuke, your physiologic diagnosed you with a BD that would shift between mania and depression, this," She gestured around as well, mimicking what he did earlier, "Would be depression, but mania, mania is worst, it's like a complete lack of judgment, it wouldn't take a shrink to tell that you are a tad too…loco."

Sasuke barked a laugh, another sign that he was most definitely not suffering from a bipolar episode. "Nana's words?"

Sakura recoiled. "You know that she calls you that?"

"Yeah, I am the one that said it to her." At her confused expression. "She needed assurance, and I needed to break it down to her in the easiest way possible. Loco seemed like a word that wouldn't scare her much."

Sakura shook her head. "And that, is one more evidence that you're not bipolar in the least. See here, this episode of yours, it happened right after the incident with Nana a couple weeks ago, I think it's safe to assume that this incident hit a little too close to home which made you…loco. And the other episodes, they must have been triggered somehow. For example," She bit her lower lip, "If it's not too hard for you, I would like you to tell me what you were going through before, when you…" She gestured nervously at his wrists.

Sasuke looked down at his wrists and his expression further tilted into a frown. "It was…the anniversary…of Juugo's…" He sighed. "But then again, I've lived through several other anniversaries, never tried to…before."

"It must have been an accumulation, what were you going through at that time? Other triggers? Something that would have put you into a rotten mood?"

"I was fighting with dad, he was insisting that I switch into business, and I had this thing at school that I had to pass, but I hadn't prepared for it, because mom had this cancer scare, and we were all kind of drawn into it, and I guess life was kind of crappy at that time."

"Well, there you go, things were going haywire at that time, and you just couldn't deal, I am guessing that the medicines that they gave you for BD, didn't do you much good as well."

Sasuke sighed and his shoulders slumped. "So, where do I go, from here?"

Sakura smiled. "Tsunade will talk to your shrink, I guess you'll go through several more evaluations, and then, when, not if, when the shrink realizes that I am right, he will change your treatment plan, and PTSD is completely curable, I guess you'll get better."

He was discharged a week later. He sought her out in the residents' lounge. "Sakura?" He called out.

She smiled at him. "Finally breaking free?"

He nodded. "Finally." His lips tilted in a smirk. "I guess I never thanked you, I suppose I should be grateful that you're such a bug."

She cuffed him on his arm. "That didn't sound like a proper thank you to me."

"I have to go." He said, "I'll have a time of it, trying to catch up at school and everything, they're pretty strict in KCI."

She paused. "KCI? Konoga's culinary institute? You're a culinary arts student?"

He gave her a nod. "Surprised? I suppose I should repay your favor by telling you that you shouldn't cook, not again, not ever, that was the worst tuna sandwich I've ever tasted."

She cuffed him again. "Shouldn't you be going? Catching up with school and all, Martha Stewart?"

He shook his head and started walking, dismissing her with a short wave, when he was a few steps away from her, he called her name again, the rosette turned, her head tilted to the side in invitation. "I suppose I'm not much of a catch now, am I? What with the mental issues and all." Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "But, when I get all this straightened out, would you like to go out for a cup of coffee or something?"

Sakura's lips broke into a smile. "I'd love to."

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You guys are amazing


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